Australia Sells Lease on Airport
To Southern Cross Consortium

A Wall Street Journal Online NEWS ROUNDUP

Updated June 25, 2002 1:25 a.m. ET

SYDNEY, Australia -- The government announced Tuesday it has sold a 99-year lease for Sydney Airport, Australia's largest, to an Australian-led consortium for 5.5 billion Australian dollars (US$3.1 billion).

Southern Cross consortium, which beat out two other bidders for the airport, is led by Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd. and includes German construction company Hochtief AG and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.